Method of modifying the appearance of a pile fabric



M. A. LAW 3,422,512

METHOD OF MODIFYING THE APPEARANCE OF A FILE FABRIC Jan. 21, 1969 FiledMarch 8. 1966 SHEARMQ +kamsmq bkvmq COMPRESSM Pl LE- PASTE- PmwrmqMARVIN A. LAW. B MJWWM A'I'IORNEYS United States Patent 3,422,512 METHODOF MODIFYING THE APPEARANCE OF A PILE FABRIC Marvin A. Law, Spray, N.C.,assignor to Fieldcrest Mills, Inc., Spray, N.C., a corporation ofDelaware Filed Mar. 8, 1966, Ser. No. 532,690 US. Cl. 26-16 2 ClaimsInt. Cl. D06c 23/00; D06c 23/02 ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A method ofenhancing the appearance of a pile fabric wherein a printing paste isapplied thereto in a decorative pattern, with the printing pastecontaining an adhesive constituent for restraining the printed portionsof the pile at a lower level than the remaining pile upon the fabricbeing subjected to a pile compressive force in conjunction with theprinting thereof. Thereafter the non-printed portions of the pile fabricextending above the printed portions are sheared, after which theadhesive constituent is removed permitting the non-sheared printed areasto extend above the sheared portions to form a colored pattern inrelief.

This invention relates to pile fabrics and, more particularly, to anovel method of modifying the appearance of a conventionally formed pilefabric, such as terry fabric, to obtain design areas.

In certain pile fabric products, such as towels of terry fabric, it hasbeen desirable to produce clearly defined intricately configured designareas, which include for example low cut pile and high loop pile.Methods to produce fabrics including such design areas and the productsof those methods are known, but have relied upon the use of specialweaving methods or special characteristic yarns woven into the pilefabric at the time of formation. Production of fabrics having a designdefined by areas of different colors of pile congruent with a designdefined by areas of high :and low or loop and sheared pile has beenparticularly difficult.

It is an important object of this invention to provide a method ofeconomically modifying a conventionally formed or produced pile fabrichaving at least one pile surface to obtain Jacquard-type decorativemotifs defined by areas of high or 100p pile and areas of low or shearedpile in the modified pile surface or surfaces of the fabric. Moreparticularly, the method of this invention may be applied to aconventional pile fabric, such as a terry fabric, to produce thereon anintricately configured design including areas of pile as described whichis congruent with a design including areas of pile of different colors.

A more specific object of this invention is to provide a method ofmodifying a pile fabric to produce thereon a decorative pattern of thetype described wherein certain groups of piles of the pile surface aresubjected to the application of a paste having an adhesivecharacteristic and to the application of a pile compressive force toreduce the height of the certain piles so that those piles define thedecorative pattern and are adhesivcly restrained or held at reducedheight by the paste during the shearing of protruding upper end portionsof other piles on the pile surface. The groups of piles subsequently arepermitted to extend higher than they did during the shearing to producehigh pile, by being released upon being subjected to a treatment whichmodifies the adhesive characteristic of the paste.

Some of the objects and advantages of this invention having been stated,other will appear as the description proceeds, when taken in connectionwith the accompanying drawing, in which- FIGURE 1 is a perspective viewof one pile surface of Patented Jan. 21, 1969 "ice a towel exemplifyingone form of pile fabric produced in accordance with the method of thisinvention;

FIGURES 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D and 2B are schematic sectional views representingsuccessive stages or steps in the method of the present invention, andbeing taken substantially along the line 2E-2E in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a schematic perspective view of an apparatus useful inpracticing the method of this invention; and

FIGURE 4 is a flow chart diagram of certain steps of the method of thisinvention.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing, the fabric of the towelshown in FIGURE 1 and indicated generally at 10 is exemplary of a pilefabric having a decorative pattern thereon which may be produced inaccordance with the present invention, as described in greater detailhereinafter. The fabric is originally formed from pile yarn or yarnswhich are conventional, and which preferably are susceptible toreceiving colored printing paste.

Terry pile fabric has been chosen as a suitable form of pile fabric tobe used for illustrative purposes, and a terry pile fabric having pilesurfaces on both sides thereof has been chosen as such a fabric isusually employed in the manufacture of towels. Terry fabrics :areusually, but not always, woven with terry pile of uniform height and,therefore, this invention is important for obtaining variable heightpile surfaces on terry fabrics which are woven with piles of uniformheight. It is to be understood, however, that the method of the presentinvention is not limited solely to terry pile fabrics or to pile fabricshaving pile surfaces on both sides thereof, but that the method of thisinvention may be applied to pile fabrics of various types andconstructions.

The terry fabric used in the towel 10 (FIGURE 1) provides an aestheticeffect in that a decorative motif appears in the pile surface whichincludes areas of high loop pile and areas of low sheared or cut pile.In accordance with the method of this invention, a terry pilefabrichaving pile surfaces on both sides thereof may have decorative motifsappearing on the two pile surfaces which are dissimilar or similar asmay be chosen and as will be pointed out in greater detail hereinafter.The decorative motif for the exposed pile surface of the towel 10 is apattern of diamonds 11 appearing against a background 12, although it isto be understood that the decorative motif may take any of a variety ofother configurations. As indicated, the decorative motif on the pilesurface of the fabric (FIGURE 1) is defined against a background 12 oflow cut pile by areas of high loop pile defining the diamonds 11.

The steps of modifying a conventional pile fabric to produce the fabricused for the towel 10 may best be described with reference to sectionalviews of the fabric in various stages of manufacture (FIGURES 2A-2E),taken looking in the Warpwise direction of the fabric of the towel 10(FIGURE 1).

In modifying a pile fabric in accordance with the method of thisinvention, and particularly in producing a terry pile fabric such asused for the towel 10 of FIG- URE 1, a base fabric 20 (FIGURES 2A2E) isformed by interweaving ground warp and filling yarns whilesimultaneously interweaving pile yarns with the base fabric to projectfrom the two sides thereof and form surfaces of pile 21. As statedabove, the yarns used may be any conventional yarns, and it is preferredthat the pile yarns be susceptible to coloring agents which may be aconstituent of a colored printing paste. As shown in FIGURE 2A, thefabric preferably is woven with terry pile 21 of uniform height.

In order to develop a decorative pattern, such as the diamonds 11 on thetowel 10 of FIGURE 1, certain groups of piles or pile areas of one pilesurface of the fabric are subjected to an application of paste having anadhesive characteristic, and the certain piles are selected to definethe chosen decorative pattern. In producing fabric for the towel 10,groups of piles define the diamonds 11 (as indicated by bracketed areasin FIGURES 2A-2E). Where a printing apparatus such as for screenprinting is employed in practicing the method of this invention, as ispreferred, the groups of piles are determined by the permeable areas ofa screen 22 through which paste 24 is pressed or extruded by a squeegeemeans 25 during the printing operation while other piles (such as thosein the background 12) are shielded or protected against the applicationof paste by the masked or impermeable areas of the screen (FIGURE 28).

The groups of piles are also subjected to the application of a pilecompressive force, to substantially uniformly reduce the height of thosepiles. Due to the adhesive characteristic of the paste on the groups ofpiles, those piles are adhesively retained or held at reduced height bythe paste subsequent to the removal of the force and will define at thisintermediate stage of the method the chosen decorative pattern appearing(FIGURE 2C) as pasted down low piles 11 against a background of highpiles 12, the upper end portions of which, not having been subjected toan application of the paste, protrude above the reduced height of thecertain piles.

Where a screen printing apparatus is used for the application of paste,as preferred, the aparatus may employ either a blade or roller squeegeemeans 25 to force the paste 24 through the screen 22 having permeableand impermeable areas which determine the decorative pattern. Apparatusemploying a roller type squeegee typically operates with a relativelyhigh force being applied to the roller squeegee to force the pastethrough the printing screen, and such a force will serve tosubstantially uniformly reduce the height of the piles during the application of paste. Thus, in such apparatus Where a high force isapplied, the application of pile compressive force to one group of pilesoccurs concurrently with the application of paste to that same group.

Inasmuch as the downward force required and typically employed with theblade-type squeegee is less than the downward force applied to aroller-type squeegee, the force applied to the group of piles during theapplication of paste with an apparatus employing a blade-type squeegeeis not always such as to substantially uniformly reduce the height ofthe piles. Accordingly, where a blade squeegee apparatus is employed, orwhere a roller squeegee apparatus is employed with low force beingapplied to the squeegee, an adequate pile compressive force must beotherwise provided for. This may be done by subsesuent application of anadequate force, and preferably is done by passing the fabric havingpaste thereon through the nip of a suitable pair of rolls, as will befurther described hereinafter. Where the fabric is thus passed through apair of rolls, the application of force to one group of piles issubsequent to the application of paste thereto. Should such a pair ofrolls be used in conjunction with a roller squeegee, force is appliedboth concurrently with and subsequent to the application of paste to onegroup of piles.

In accordance with this invention, a decorative pattern on the pilesurface of a fabric, such as the towel 10 of FIGURE 1, may be definednot only by high and low piles or loop and sheared piles but be furtherdefined by color variation between the groups of piles and other piles,with the pattern defined by colors being congruent with that defined byother pile appearance variations. To produce such congruent patterns,the paste applied to the groups of piles is a colored printing paste. Inany event, the paste applied has an adhesive characteristic by virtue ofthe inclusion therein of an adhesive constituent, suitable for holdingor adhesively restraining the groups of piles 11 at reduced heightsubsequent to the removal of the pile compressive force (FIGURE 2D) tocause the piles to define a decorative motif while upper end portions ofother piles 12 protrude above the groups of piles 1 1. Suitablematerials for use as an adhesive constituent include polyvinyl alcoholand methylcellulose, but other adhesive materials may be satisfactoryfor use as an adhesive constituent provided that certain requirementsare met as hereinafter described in greater detail.

In order to modify the fabric to provide areas of varying pileappearance, the pile surface including the groups of pile 11 which areheld at a reduced height by the paste while upper end portions of otherpiles 12 protrude above the groups of piles is thereafter sheared in anysuitable manner to remove the protruding upper end portions and formsheared pile. The fabric, or at least the certain piles, is thensubjected to treatment to release the groups of piles and permit thosepiles to extend to a higher level than they did during the shearing,preferably to a higher level than the low other piles. The treatment towhich the groups of piles are subjected may be any treatment which willmodify the adhesive characteristic of the paste applied to the groups ofpiles '11 and thereby releasethe piles from adhesive restraint. Wherepolyvinyl alcohol is used as an adhesive constituent in the paste, asuitable treatment may be obtained by Washing the fabric or at least thegroups of piles with water at a temperature of at least F., to removethe polyvinyl alcohol. Where the paste includes methylcellulose as anadhesive constituent, the adhesive characteristic thereof may bemodifled by wetting the fabric or at least the groups of piles withethyl acetate to remove the methylcellulose.

While the method of this invention may suitably be practiced with avariety of apparatus or equipment, one type of apparatus foundsatisfactory has been schematically illustrated in FIGURE 3. There, anindeterminate length of conventional terry fabric 30 as described abovemay be fed to a printing, and compressing apparatus, indicated generallyat 31, from a suitable source such as a supply roll 32. The fabric 30may be supported upon a work table 34, and transported or indexedthrough one or more printing work stations. At each printing workstation, such as the station indicated generally at 35, a designcarrying silk screen 36 may be lowered in contact with the upwardlyfacing pile surface of the fabric 30, and a paste as described aboveapplied through matrix openings in the screen by means of a squeegee 38.The screen may then be lifted, and the fabric 30, including groups ofpiles 39 to which paste has been applied, further transported or indexedto be passed through the nip of a pair of rollers 40, 41. The rollers40, 41 are resiliently urged together to apply a pile compressive forceto the piles of the fabric 30, to substantially uniformly reduce theheight of at least the groups of piles 39 to which paste has beenapplied at the printing work station 35. As briefly outlined above,where the printing work station 35 includes a roller squeegee 38 whichapplies paste at relatively high pressure, the pile compressive forcedeveloped and applied by the roller squeegee 38 may be adequate tosubstantially uniformly reduce the height of at least the groups ofpiles as required by the method of this invention. In such an instance,the pair of compressive rolls 40, 41 are not required may be dispensedwith.

Subsequent to the applications of paste and pile compressive force, andWhile the certain piles are held at a reduced height by the paste,fabric 30 is passed to a shearing work station, indicated generally at42, at which the protruding upper end portions of the other piles 12 ofthe pile surface are removed. The shearing work station 42 includessuitable means for guiding the fabric over a relatively sharp turn,bend, or edge, such as a support member 44 and guide rod 45. Adjacentthe sharp turn made by the fabric is positioned a suitable shearingmeans 46, which may take any of a number of forms generally known andavailable. The fabric 30, including the reduced height groups of piles39, is passed over the relatively sharp turn or bend in order to causethe other piles, Which are to be sheared, to tend to project outwardlyand be more easily contacted and sheared by the shearing means 46.

In order to aid in maintaining the groups of piles 39 at reduced heightduring shearing of the upper end portions, the fabric 30 is preferablypassed from the printing, and compressing apparatus 31, to a suitabledrying or heating apparatus, such as an oven 48, to dry the pasteapplied to the groups of piles. Where the paste includes a coloringagent, such drying may be required to set the color in the piles. Uponbeing passed through the oven 48 and heated to dry the paste, the fabric30 may be guided adjacent the shearing station 42 and wound into a rollor package 49, otherwise prepared for handling for the next subsequentstep.

Thereafter, the fabric, or at least the groups of piles 39, is subjectedto a treatment as described above to modify the adhesive characteristicof the paste to render the same ineffective to hold the certain piles atthe reduced height, thereby releasing the certain piles to permit themto extend higher than they did during the shearing of the protruding ofthe upper end portion, and to produce high piles.

The length of fabric 30 thus subjected to processing of the apparatus ofFIGURE 3 may then be severed into towel lengths for marketing. Thesuccessive steps of the method of this invention are summarized in theflow diagram of FIGURE 4.

While the method has here been described and illustrated with referenceto modifying one pile surface of a pile fabric, it is readily apparentthat decorative patterns may be formed in both surfaces of a pile fabrichaving two pile surfaces by repeating the steps of the method of thisinvention in operations on each pile surface. Inasmuch as the perforateand imperforate portions of a silk screen printing apparatus may easilybe changed and varying colors of printing paste may be used, thepatterns developed on the two surfaces may be entirely unrelated as toboth configuration and color if so desired. Further, multiple printingstations may be provided to apply multiple colors of paste to onesurface as is well known.

It is considered apparent that a method of modifying the appearance of apile fabric has been disclosed and illustrated by which a conventionalpile fabric may be provided with decorative patterns defined byvariations or contrasts in pile appearance through subjecting certaingroups of piles of a pile surface to applications of paste and of forceto define a decorative motif and hold those piles at a reduced heightduring the shearing of protruding upper end portions of other piles toproduce low or sheared pile areas of the decorative pattern. Thereafter,the piles which had been temporarily held at reduced height may bereleased to permit them to extend higher and define high or loop pileareas of the decorative pattern. The paste applied may be a coloredprinting paste to further define the decorative pattern by colorcontrast.

In the drawing and specification there has been set forth a preferredembodiment of the invention and, although specific terms are employed,they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not forpurposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being defined in theclaims:

I claim:

1. A method of modifying the appearance of a woven pile fabric, such asterry fabric, having at least one substantially uniform =length looppile surface, to produce thereon a decorative pattern, said methodcomprising:

applying a pile compressive force to the fabric to reduce the height ofthe pile thereon while screen printing a colored printing paste havingpolyvinyl alcohol as an adhesive constituent therein to certain groupsof piles, while shielding the other piles from the printing paste todefine 'a colored decorative pattern with the colored groups of pilebeing adhesively restrained by the printing paste at a reduced heightrelative to the other piles,

thereafter applying a further pile compressive force to the fabric toensure that the height of all the printed groups of pile is uniformlybelow a predetermined level relative to the other piles, thereaftersubjecting the fabric to a drying operation to dry the printing paste toaid in maintaining the groups of pile at reduced height, then shearingthe upper end portions of the other piles, and subjecting the fabric toa wetting treatment with water at a temperature of at least F. to removethe polyvinyl alcohol adhesive constituent from the printing paste onthe printed groups of pile to thereby release the groups of pile fromadhesive restraint to permit them to extend above the sheared pile andthereby form a colored pattern in relief, with the relief portion of thepattern being formed .by loop pile and the remaining portions by cutpile. 2. A method of modifying the appearance of a woven pile fabric,such as terry fabric, having at least one substantially uniform lengthloop pile surface, to produce thereon a decorative pattern, said methodcomprising:

applying a pile compressive force to the fabric to reduce the height ofthe pile thereon while screen printing a colored printing paste havingmethylcellulose as an adhesive constituent therein to certain groups ofpiles, while shielding the other piles from the printing paste to definea colored decorative pattern with the colored groups of pile beingadhesively restrained by the printing paste at a reduced height relativeto the other piles, thereafter applying a further pile compressive forceto the fabric to ensure that the height of all the printed groups ofpile is uniformly below a predetermined level relative to the otherpiles, thereafter subjecting the fabric to a drying operation to dry theprinting paste to aid in maintaining the groups of pile at reducedheight, then shearing the upper end portions of the other piles, and

subjecting the fabric to a wetting treatment with ethyl acetate toremove the methylcellulose adhesive constituent from the printing pasteon the printed groups of pile to thereby release the groups of pile fromadhesive restraint to permit them to extend above the sheared pile andthereby form a colored pattern in relief, with the relief portion of thepattern being formed by loop pile and the remaining portions by cutpile.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,192,297 3/1940 Brown et al. 1542,764,568 9/ 1956 Hawkins 154 605,710 6/1898 Goodall 2616 1,718,409 6/1929 Brett 2669 2,110,867 3/1938 Castles 161-63 2,160,827 6/ 1939 Cheneyet a1. 117 2,225,497 12/ 1940 Greiser 1174 2,732,608 1/1956 Richardson26-15 3,008,212 11/1961 Hadley 2615 3,184,367 5/ 1965 White 16163FOREIGN PATENTS 494,929 11/ 1938 Great Britain. 5,902 of 1883 GreatBritain.

ROBERT R. MACKEY, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R.

